Unique Hybrid GeothermalTM with

Innovative Thermal Energy Rejector using no

Fossil Fuel Green House Gas (GHG) Emitting Energy by

ABS Group of Companies.

Thermal Energy Rejector.

Excellence Award Winning Group Ontario Region

Background

Since 1993 S. Strashin and Sons Limited has purchased, renovated

and repositioned five existing beam and post, garment factory

buildings in the downtown west, into office/loft space. In their

latest project, through wholly owned subsidiary 501 Alliance

Investments Inc., the company acquire the former Cooper Canada

sporting goods factory, near Weston Road and Black Creek, is

undergoing renovation and upgrading to commercial offices

targeting LEED Gold Certification. Building municipal address is 501

Alliance, Toronto, with site area is approximately 15,579.5m2

.

The building is a 4 storey building with approximately 65,000 square

feet per floor and 65,000 square foot underground parking garage,

construction circa 1975, along with an attached 54,000 square foot

single storey structure to the west, construction circa 1965.

Project HGE Team

ABS Group of companies has pioneered the design of innovative

hybrid geothermal (HGE) system. The Group received 5th

Canadian

Geothermal Coalition (CGC) excellence award on “United

Communities Credit Union Complex, Town of Amherstburg, Ontario.

Geothermal technology is growing in Canada & ABS Group is among

the leaders in promoting this industry.

On 501 Alliance project, “Polar Bear Water Source Heat Pump Mfg.

Inc.”, along with ABS Group engineering corporates “Advanced

Building Solutions” and “ABS Green Inc”, (www.absgoc.com)

developed state of the art and cost effective hybrid geothermal

based mechanical system utilizing Polar Bear Water to Water geo-

thermal Heat Pumps, Air Handlers (Fan coils) and third party

Advanced Heat Recovery unit for 100% fresh air supply.

HOW Hybrid GeothermalTM

WORKS.

Hybrid GeothermalTM

provides sustainable and renewable energy

using ground & surfaces such as parking area, play ground or even

building roof that can be used as energy absorber or energy rejector

to either heat or cool the geothermal field to provide building

heating and cooling without burning fossil fuels. Hybrid GeothermalTM

system includes Thermal Energy AbsorberTM

or Thermal Energy

RejectorTM

, Geothermal ReservoirTM

and a Hybrid Geothermal Skid

which incorporates heat pumps, circulators, valves, piping and a

web based computer control system.

Thermal Energy AbsorberTM

collects sun heat using fluid circulating

through an array of pipes embedded in the surface of the outdoor

parking, roof or school playground and stores it in Geothermal

ReservoirTM

in the ground and releases it to heat buildings in winter.

This increase the Coefficient of Performance (COP) by 25% of

ground source heat pumps when operate in winter.

On the other hand, Thermal Energy RejectorTM

rejects excess heat

collected by the geothermal field during summer operation. System

uses fluid circulating through an array of pipes embedded in the

surface of the outdoor parking, roof or school playground when

external temperatures are low - at night or in winter. This serve two

purpose, first it provide passive snow melting and secondly it lower

the temperature of a Geothermal ReservoirTM

from its higher

temperature state 75o

F to 50o

F or even lower over the course of the

winter by just running the circulating pumps exchanging the heat

energy via heat exchanger.

Cont inue on Page 5

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No matter what materials you use, no matter how carbon neutral you

attempt to be, you can never surpass the savings in carbon

emissions generated by re-using and repurposing.

-100000

0

100000

200000

300000

400000

500000

600000

700000

ANNAUL ENERGY USAGE

WSHP Cooling Coil Load (kBTU) WSHP Heating Coil Load (kBTU)

The Innovation & technology

Advancement The integration of the “Hybrid Geothermal Energy” (HGE) system

with other technologies in this building, addresses most of the

challenges and most importantly meets the Company‟s green

strategies & mandates. The HGE system was sized to accommodate

the full load of the development and there will be no back-up

system or boiler in place.

Besides the HGE system, this building will have many innovative

design, material & energy features which will be required to achieve

LEED Gold Certification, such as a Thermal Energy Rejector system, an

Advanced Heat Recovery Unit for 100% Fresh Air (uses no energy

component except fans), low-e Double glazed window, 20 year

high SRI reflective roof, 250 KW solar farm, insulated roof and walls,

storm water harvesting, low flow plumbing fixtures, high efficiency

lighting and controls, geothermal heated parking lots, parking for

bicycles and electric cars and fibre-optic connectivity.

The Advanced HVAC Solution ABS Group of companies and Polar Bear have pioneered the design

of the innovative HGE system, creating solutions with higher

efficiencies than have previously been achieved, compared with the

mechanical equipment using traditional geothermal systems, through

design and use of unique, patented Polar Bear geothermal

equipment. The energy efficient mechanical system of this building

consists of (A) a water to water heat pumps based combined

central heating & cooling plant, (B) a four pipe distribution piping

system using distributed air handlers (fan coils) for each floor along

with zone boxes and (C) a Hybrid Geothermal Energy Field with

Thermal Energy Rejector System. Based on the thermal load analysis,

the building is “Cool Dominant” and peak demand calls for a

minimum of 270 Tons of Cooling when fully occupied. Heating

requirements were insignificant as the central core of the building

require cooling all year round.

Challenges & Complexities

There is a tendency for modern buildings to have a high need for

cooling. This is particularly significant for larger floor plate, high

occupancy buildings with passive heat gains from people, lighting,

computers & high solar gains from extensive use of glazing in the

facade. Data Centres / Supermarkets have high cooling loads from

server rooms & process cooling respectively.

Based on thermal load analysis the 501 Alliance Office building is a

COOL DOMINANT building has annual cooling load which is larger

than the heating load, even in the Winter months which is due to

larger floor plate, high occupancy and high fresh air requirements.

Dr. Elliot Strashin, president of S. Strashin and Sons Limited, and his

design team were looking for a modular approach to an HVAC

system for this building and were inspired by the geothermal

concept, when first presented to by the ABS Group of Companies

& Polar Bear team in the summer of 2012. The challenges were to

design a modular approach type HVAC solution that will be unique,

innovative, energy efficient and environmentally friendly, for this

„Cool Dominant Building‟. The system designed will not only be

better than a Variable Refrigerant Volume system but also offers low

operating costs, avoids costly maintenance contracts and allows for

zero (0) use of fossil fuel such as natural gas. Other challenges were

to renovate the entire building within budget, maintain building

originality & aesthetics as planned by Kohn Shnier Architects.

To meet these challenges an innovative solution

was designed to satisfy 100% of the building‟s

cooling & heating demands, snow melting,

domestic hot water heating and fresh air heating

& cooling requirements, year round, without

using any natural gas.

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The Advanced HVAC

Solution (Cont‟d) Central plant: The Central Plant consists of 18 water to water heat

pumps (2 per rack), chilled water loop, hot water loop, snow

melting, DHW heating and main circulating pumps complete with

VFD‟s. Polar Bear Geothermal will provide (18) Water to Water units

each of 15 tons in capacity, with provisions to add two more 15

Ton units if needed. The Main Circulating Pumps will be equipped

with integral VFD's, sensors and controllers which will precisely

control the speed of the pump in the event of changes in a fluid

pressure differential across the pump, resulting in impressive energy

savings.

Air Handler (Fan Coil) & Zone Coil: The system is a 4 pipe HVAC

system with air handlers (Fan Coils), each with a capacity of 5 tons &

equipped with EC motors cooling coil, heating coil & controls. Air

handlers will be distributed throughout the building to provide

either heating or cooling & maintain the exact comfort required in

every area of the building. Zone coils will be provided for perimeter

zone areas to maintain comfort conditions. Insulated and acoustic

lined sheet metal ductwork use in open ceiling spaces to distribute

heated or cooled air from the air handlers (Fan Coil) & zone coils

located throughout the building.

Hybrid Geothermal Energy (“HGE”) System: Initially a traditional

geothermal field was designed during the early stages of this

project. Changes were made when it became apparent the building

was in fact “Cool Dominant”. There was a concern that over a long

period of time the loop temperature of a traditional geothermal field

might rise to unacceptable temperatures, making cooling inefficient.

Instead of drilling more holes, the team has designed unique and

innovative “Hybrid Geothermal Energy” system which includes a

“Vertical Geothermal Reservoir” and “Thermal Energy Rejector” for

the front (North) and rear (South) parking lots.

The Vertical Geothermal Reservoir consists of 72 holes drilled 620

feet deep, in the rear (South) parking lot. Boreholes near the south

wall drilled at 10 degree and 5 degree angles along with directional

angles. The Thermal Energy Rejector Field includes ¾” tubing, which

will be embedded in the ground near the parking lot surface, to

provide a means to reject heat. Utilizing the HGE system and through

monitored controls, the loop temperature can be adjusted to such

a degree, that the temperatures needed to provide excellent

efficiency for cooling would be maintained forever. The system

rejects excess heat which will be collected by the geothermal

reservoir during summer operations, in order to lower its

temperature, when outdoor air temperatures are low, either at night

or in winter, by just running the circulating pumps to circulate the

thermal fluid through heat exchanger and running through the loops

embedded in the parking lots. See Chart-1.

Chart-1: 10 years simulation results of balanced fluid temperatures

produced by Geothermal Field.

By comparing our system to a traditional

geothermal field, we anticipated that HGE

system will increase the energy efficiency ratio

(EER) by 30% to 40% and Coefficient of

performance (COP) by 20 to 25% of Central

Water to Water heat pumps.

This process allows a large volume of the Geothermal Reservoir to

achieve a significantly lower temperature, which can be maintained

over the winter till spring and used in summer for the building

cooling. This permits natural cooling of the building at a fraction of

the cost of traditional air conditioning during the summer.

The by-product of the Thermal Energy Rejector is ice melt. Large

areas of the front and rear parking lots will have passive ice melt. The

front (North) sidewalks and rear (South) parking ramp will have

active ice melt.

Advanced Heat Recovery System for Fresh air: The entire building‟s

fresh air will be supplied by a roof mounted energy efficient heat

recovery unit with a capacity of 22,500 CFM delivering 90%

effectiveness in winter & 80% effectiveness in summer. This unit uses

no compressor, burner, chilled water coil or hot water coil. The

Supply air temperature in winter will be approximately 59o

F and in

summer approximately 79o

F. The unit will be controlled with CO2

controller with CO2

sensors located in ducts to adjust the speed of

the fans via VFD‟s. Any additional heating or cooling energy needed

to bring fresh air to room temperature will be provided by building

HGE system via distributed air handlers or zone coils.

Impressive Heat Recovery!

4

HOW Hybrid

GeothermalTM

WORKS.

No water to water heat pump energize to achieve this task

besides they are satisfying building heating and cooling

demands. This system runs on a temperature difference

between geothermal filed and outdoor surfaces. This allows a

large volume of Geothermal ReservoirTM

to achieve significantly

lower temperature which can be maintained over the spring and

used in summer for the building to reject heat to – this permits

natural cooling of the building at a fraction of the cost of air

conditioning.

This increase the Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) by 40% of ground

source heat pumps when operate in summer.

HGE Application

With Respect To Building Energy Demands:

Cool Dominant Building

Heat Dominant Building

Buildings with Balance Cooling and Heating loads

With Respect To Building Types:

Industrial Buildings, Data Centers, Apartments, Hotels,

Condominiums, Offices, Schools, Assisted Living, Health care,

Retail stores, Restaurants, Conference facilities and may more…

HGE Flexibility

Every project is different! Each HGE is unique and tailored to

meet the energy needs of the building while ensuring optimum

system efficiency, sustainability and most importantly reliability.

HGE is so flexible that it can connect to any HVAC system such

as:

Water cooled Central Water to Water Heat Pump

Water Cooled Central Chillers

Water Cooled Central Heat Pumps (Heating Only)

Integrated Piping System (IPS)

Distributed Heat Pump System

Fan Coil Systems

Variable Refrigerant Volume System

Industrial Spot Cooling & Heating System

Domestic Hot Water Heating: The DHW heating will be provided by

the HGE system as it will be essentially free. The system includes

primary and secondary storage tanks, each of 175 gallons holding

capacity. All (18) Polar Bear water to water heat pumps will be

equipped with a desuperheater and an integrated circulating pump

that can provide Supplemental Domestic hot Water (SDW). This is

done by stripping heat from the superheated gas leaving the

compressor. In addition on heating demand the central plant will

operate one dedicated water to water heat pump in heating mode

to increase the primary tank temperature to 120o

F. Electric backup

heating will be provided in the Primary and Secondary DHW tanks,

which can be used when DHW delivery temperature falls below

120°F in primary tank and used twice a day (mid night & noon time)

to maintain 140°F water temperature in both tanks, to prevent

legionella pneumophila in the DHW system.

Achievement in Efficiency This unique, innovative HGE system replaces all fossil fuel which the

building would have consumed and reduces the electricity

consumption, offering significant energy savings while producing no

emissions.

For 501 Alliance the anticipated energy savings will be 55 to 65%

and carbon reduction of 60 to 70% compared with traditional

HVAC systems, however an independent energy analysis is

underway by a third party to evaluate the actual energy savings &

reduction in carbon emissions. Toronto Atmospheric Fund will pay

for the energy retrofits & monitor the energy savings. Client share the

savings.

A Showcase for

Hybrid GeothermalTM

Systems

This commercial project will be a showcase project to help bring

unique & innovative HGE & fresh air heat recovery system to the

forefront of public attention, in an innovative application. Using these

systems to heat & cool the building, eliminated the use of natural

gas, allowing the building to reduce operating costs with impressive

system efficiencies & maintain occupant comfort..

The elimination of natural gas to heat the building significantly

reduces the associated greenhouse gas emissions which fits in line

with Company‟s philosophy of being leader in Green Buildings.

Utilizing innovative systems, 501 Alliance

building will be a state of the art building,

of its kind in Toronto & encourage others

to incorporate HGE systems in their

buildings.

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Con t i nu es f rom Page 2

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